Solo Mission
by shitpostaesthetic
Summary: After Pearl's attempt at tracking proves to be too dangerous, Garnet sends the Gems on individual missions to track down Peridot.


He wiped his forehead. Despite today being cool and cloudy, he was sweating buckets. Climbing this many stairs was hard work. He wished Amethyst and Pearl had joined him, like when they were sent to retrieve the Heaven Beetle, but this was a solo mission. He grinned, he still couldn't believe they let him go by himself. Part of him wasn't entirely convinced one of the Gems weren't hiding out somewhere making sure he stayed safe, but that didn't matter to him. A solo mission could make the gems think more highly of him. He could show them how good he's gotten! After being lured into Peridot's trap, Garnet had shut down Pearl's tracking idea entirely. She insisted that tracking her was too dangerous, that they had to look for her the old way, or, as Amethyst had described it, the boring way. If Steven could even catch a sighting of her, he could show the Gems that he was a strong part of the team too.

Pulling himself up, he was wheezing. Just ahead of him, he saw a rocky stream. He grinned, he was getting closer! If Peridot was here, she must be further up, and that meant he had to keep going. He exhaled. Just a bit longer. This was for the Gems, right? They wanted to capture her. He wasn't really sure why the Gems needed to get her, in fact, he sort of wished she'd get back to Homeworld safely. Still, this is what he had to do. He stopped. The stream seemed to be rushing really quickly, could he get across? Last time he was here, he held onto Amethyst's whip when we walked across, but she wasn't here...hadn't Pearl just jumped from rock to rock? That seemed easy enough, and that way he wouldn't get wet, either. Steadying himself, he jumped. Okay, not too bad. Again, and again, not too hard. He just had to keep his balance. Just one more, and he was across! That was pretty good. He looked around, maybe she was hiding here. Hold on, _is that?_ He gasped, running towards something in the bushes. Jumping into them, he cried out, _I've got you! There's no escape!_ He opened his eyes and below him wasn't Peridot, at least not all of her. He grazed his fingers over it, this was Peridot's arm! Scooping it up, he looked around. Were her fingers around here? How did she even lose this? Maybe he could give it back to her. He couldn't carry it, he needed his arms. Putting it on the ground, he cupped his hands around it and bubbled it, sending it to the temple.

He shook his head. He had to think like Garnet. Garnet kept her mind on the mission. If Peridot's arm was here, then the rest of her should also be here, right? He just had to keep going, and then he'd get her! And even if he didn't, they had another limb to add to their Peridot collection now. The Gems were going to be so proud of him! He giggled to himself, he was so excited. Okay, okay, focus, you have to do this before you can go home. He kept going.

He sort of felt bad for Peridot. She was kinda like Lapis right now, when he first met her. She was trapped on a planet that wasn't hers, and she was just trying to go home. Couldn't she just use her other arm to helicopter back to her home? Maybe she wasn't done on Earth, maybe there was something else she had to do. Hopefully it wasn't worse than what she did at the Kindergarten. He shuddered. That really was horrifying. He didn't understand fusion that well, but what happened with Garnet told him it must be really bad. She was probably just fixing up some warp pads or some things to help her contact the Yellow Diamond she and Jasper had mentioned.

He stopped. Right in front of him was the bridge. It wasn't broken, that was good. He skipped across. This might be the easiest part of this mission and he was going to cherish it. Unfortunately, as he reached the end, he realized that also made him get across faster. Oh well. Now he just had to climb a little hill. There wasn't anything that would stop him! Not some stairs, not a river, not a bridge, not a hill, he was going to find Peridot no matter what! He put his hands on his hips.

"Peridot, once I find you, you're going down!"

Running up the hill, he started laughing. The hill was so steep but he kept going and his laughter just got louder. He was going to get her, this was it! He had her cornered. Nowhere to hide! Steven was the master of tracking, a real champion! Peridot was going to be so sorry she messed with the Crystal Gems! Reaching the top he raised his hands over his head in a gesture of victory. He quickly lowered his arms, though, as before him was not Peridot, but maybe the hardest part of his mission. He had to figure out how to get across the floating islands. Last time, he almost plunged to his death because of his reckless actions. He shook his head. Think like Pearl. How would Pearl get across? She always knew what to do. Hadn't he jumped something like this before? He could make it.

Backing up, he ran forward and just as he reached the edge he jumped off. There was nothing now but hope! He landed. Good, one down. He jumped for the next one, making sure not to wiggle the island too much, and he landed! The next one seemed a little far, could he make this one? He'd need a bridge, if only Opal were here. He chuckled. She lay across and act like a bridge, it'd be so easy. What else could be a bridge? There had to be something he could use...something he could summon to help him. Lifting his head, he knew! He balled up his fist and, thinking of the Gems, summoned his shield. He made sure it was really big so he could walk across it.

Sticking one side into the one island and shimmying the other into the other island, he made his shield into a bridge. Hopefully this would help him, and not let him fall. Putting one foot on it, he sighed. Now or never, he thought, as he put his whole body weight onto it. Nothing yet, it worked! He couldn't believe it, and let out a cheer. He had to get across quickly, he wasn't sure how long this would last. Shuffling to the other side, he stepped onto the island as it dissipated into nothing. It always looked so cool when it disappeared. The air looked so sparkly where it had been and how it just turned to nothing? Awesome! Now back to the mission. He was here to get Peridot. That was what mattered right now.

It didn't take long before he had jumped all of the floating islands and he had gotten to the other side. He was thankful that it was just a ramp he had to climb now, and not stairs. Steven hoped he would never see another stair in his lifetime. He looked into the sky. The more he saw of this place, the more he thought about Opal. He remembered how cool it was when she carried him and slid down this ramp, then fought that giant bird. Opal was so cool, he should draw a picture of her for Pearl and Amethyst when he got home. They'd love it! Maybe they'd even fuse for him! He could invite Connie over, too, she'd love Opal! This was going to be so good. Of course, he had to finish this first. He enjoyed the feeling of walking through a closed building. It wasn't exactly like home, but the walls and the ceiling made it sort of comforting, combined with the windows, letting him see the sky, he really loved this part. This was a great time to get pumped up before he caught Peridot.

The only question he had was how he was going to do it. How would the gems do it? The gems weren't here...how would Steven do it? He could knock her down by launching his shield at her. That might work. The gems had such cool powers to fight with, Steven probably hadn't even discovered all of his powers. That was alright, though. He'd get her. If he could find her, he'd get her. He only needed to-

Was that?

No way.

As he reached the top, he spotted Peridot sitting alone on the edge of the temple. This was it! This was his chance! He could sneak up on her, maybe he could just bubble her and send her to the temple! He could put her in a bubble shield and roll her back! He needed to be quiet. He tiptoed to the doorway, peeking out just enough so he could see, but not enough so that he would be seen.

What was she doing here, anyway? There wasn't anything here for her to fix, not that he knew about anyway. Maybe she was just watching the clouds. That would be nice! She seemed to be shaking a little. Was she okay? Usually when the gems found her, she was grumbling about something or talking to her fingers. She wasn't making any noise, was she? Could get closer? He edged towards her, trying to crouch behind the Heaven Beetle's home. It didn't hide him well, but that didn't matter right now. She didn't seem to be dangerous right now. She was making small, sad noises...was she crying? He stood,

"Are you alright?"

"It's been four months," She whispered, shrinking into herself. She was kneeling, her arms out in front of her-what were her arms. Nubs of half her arms dangled, so many parts of her were missing. He turned to her. "Why hasn't she come for me yet?

"Do you ever feel replaceable, Steven? I've sent countless distress signals to Yellow Diamond, and she hasn't responded to a single one of them. Has she not recieved them? I thought I was her most trusted ally. I worked so closely beneath her, was I nothing but a pawn to her? Did she know I would be stranded here? Did she see this coming? I thought I mattered to her, Steven. Do I not matter?"

"No!"

She jumped back, startled by the boy's sudden outburst. He stood above her, eyes clouded by emotions that were so foreign to her she hardly recognized the look on his face.

"You are important! You matter! Peridot, listen to me. You can't let anyone make you feel like garbage. If Yellow Diamond really cared about you, wouldn't she be here by now? I don't know about Homeworld, but they don't seem to care about much but their own personal advantage. That's why my mom had to abandon you guys. She saw how Homeworld was hurting the Earth and she put a stop to it, because she cares! Peridot, the Crystal Gems care." He held out his hand, "I care. Come back with me."

The air was filled with a heavy silence as she stared up at him. Was this compassion? She had never recieved much of that on Homeworld. The Crystal Gems seemed to be filled with this concern, that seemed so nice right now. Yellow Diamond was not one to be opposed, but what could she do if she just scrambled underneath her? The Steven was right, Yellow Diamond didn't care about her fate, Yellow Diamond cared if she did her job properly. Why would she want to live like that? Here was this boy, offering his compassion, she lifted her arms, wobbling as she stood. Having only one limb hadn't been easy. She practically fell onto the boy, and smiled.

"Thank you, Steven."

* * *

Hey guys! So sorry it's so long, I just wanted to write this so badly. I might continue it, what do you think? Review and tell me what you think!


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